The Center is a decent place to see a show,but getting there and dealing with the Camden police and parking people make it as miserable as possible. Yesterday we attended the Jimmy Buffett concert. We have been to every concert he has done at Camden and this will be our last year.
Parrot Heads flock to every show early, set up a tent, a bbq and a cooler. We are a peaceful group who like to escape for a one day and attempt to transform one slab of tar and concrete into a slice of the islands until we go to the show.
When we arrived at 8 am we were allowed to go into the parking lot and set up along the river. Shortly after a Susquehanna bank parking official shows up and kicks out all of the cars into the streets. He gave specific intructions where to park along the street to wait our turn in line. I stayed with our stuff while my wife went to get in line. Everything was fine until the police showed up and started making people move the cars. The streets were now lined with cars loaded with fans arguing over who was where in line. Inside the empty lot the police drove around telling those few of us who made it in without cars that we couldn't put up tents. Not their rule they reminded us, but the fine would be somewhre between 0-1000 depending on the officer you talked to. Disgruntled fans in the streets were being told by the police to go home. Finally at 1230 the gates opened and parking started. Once our group was together we were able to get on with the party. But the police wouldn't stop harrassing everyone about their tents. Some were actually pretty nasty. We were told that the swat team was on roof tops looking for tents. Risking fire by sniper, we put our tent back up after they left. Eventually everyone had their tent up, grill going and was happy. Camden, we all could have done without the 6 or more hours of crap from the police and parking people. Next year open the lots early, contain the crowd inside. Stop harrassing over the tents. Its stupid and you can't enforce it. For those of you who go next year, put up the tent, smile when they come by and act concerned. They can't enforce the rule, you won't pay a fine and there will be no sniper fire.

The Center is a decent place to see a show,but getting there and dealing with the Camden police and parking people make it as miserable as possible. Yesterday we attended the Jimmy Buffett concert. We have been to every concert he has done at Camden and this will be our last year.
Parrot Heads flock to every show early, set up a tent, a bbq and a cooler. We are a peaceful group who like to escape for a one day and attempt to transform one slab of tar and concrete into a slice of the islands until we go to the show.
When we arrived at 8 am we were allowed to go into the parking lot and set up along the river. Shortly after a Susquehanna bank parking official shows up and kicks out all of the cars into the streets. He gave specific intructions where to park along the street to wait our turn in line. I stayed with our stuff while my wife went to get in line. Everything was fine until the police showed up and started making people move the cars. The streets were now lined with cars loaded with fans arguing over who was where in line. Inside the empty lot the police drove around telling those few of us who made it in without cars that we couldn't put up tents. Not their rule they reminded us, but the fine would be somewhre between 0-1000 depending on the officer you talked to. Disgruntled fans in the streets were being told by the police to go home. Finally at 1230 the gates opened and parking started. Once our group was together we were able to get on with the party. But the police wouldn't stop harrassing everyone about their tents. Some were actually pretty nasty. We were told that the swat team was on roof tops looking for tents. Risking fire by sniper, we put our tent back up after they left. Eventually everyone had their tent up, grill going and was happy. Camden, we all could have done without the 6 or more hours of crap from the police and parking people. Next year open the lots early, contain the crowd inside. Stop harrassing over the tents. Its stupid and you can't enforce it. For those of you who go next year, put up the tent, smile when they come by and act concerned. They can't enforce the rule, you won't pay a fine and there will be no sniper fire.

I've grown up going to this venue, even back when it was the E-center, and briefly worked concessions from 2001-2003. As well, I'm also a professional musician myself, and do therefore feel qualified to review this venue.

Before starting, I would like to comment about "professional" Doucheface J. Hate to break it to you, but words like "sucks balls" and "Cuntinued" absolutely invalidate your opinion, since you cannot appear to form an intelligent comprehensible sentence.

Parking-wise, you're looking at mix-bag. There are lots across the venue, but don't be surprised to be paying $20 to park. Parking lots further down are available, but be prepared to walk, and honestly, you don't want to get too close into the heart of Camden at midnight when the performance is over. The easiest bet it to park at the RT. 73 station and take the train in. No hassle and you pay $1 for the train.

Concessions-wise, you're looking at the standard Aramark-fare, while paying an arm and a leg. It's expensive, no lie, but water fountains are available. As well, typically Susq. allows you to bring in your own drinks (non-alcoholic) pending that they are sealed. They also do allow medically-necessary food items (say you're diabetic).

Audio-wise, I don't know what others are talking about, because this venue has been well acclaimed for the indoor acoustics. Typically, yes the volume is loud, but I have never heard it to the point of clipping.

Yes, lawn seats are pretty much dirt. That's why you pay dirt for the tickets. They're not growing fresh grass each concert. It's a hill, and likewise, people dance, surf, and get really trashed up in this section. And how do you complain about too many noisy children in the family section? Do they need a section dedicated to whinny grumpy patrons?

Other-wise, there really isn't a bad seat in the house. Possibly being to the extremes on either side, but really, the venue itself is fairly small. The pit is very tiny, so expect to be cramped.

Festivals are immense, with adjacent lots dedicated to expanses of booths and stages.

Entrance-wise, expect lines when first starting. Arrive late and you'll get in quickly. I have never had a problem with finding my seats WITH assistance of the security and staff there. Never been frisked. I even had an opened water bottle, and he opened the bottle, asked me if anything has been done to it, and then let me go through. No problems with medicine, despite my friend having Oxycodine in her purse for medical use (pulled teeth) and them being aware.

First aid is TOP NOTCH. During Warped Tour back in 2002, my friend actually passed out in the crowd. They were prompt in finding him a bed, gave all of us liquids, and requested that we bring him back in an hour just to check up that he's okay.

What others are talking about I have no clue. I've been to NUMEROUS venues across the country, and while this is not my favorite (Electric Factory wins that), the Susq. or Tweeter, or E-Center, still wins my heart as a quality venue to see all genres of music and performances.

I've grown up going to this venue, even back when it was the E-center, and briefly worked concessions from 2001-2003. As well, I'm also a professional musician myself, and do therefore feel qualified to review this venue.

Before starting, I would like to comment about "professional" Doucheface J. Hate to break it to you, but words like "sucks balls" and "Cuntinued" absolutely invalidate your opinion, since you cannot appear to form an intelligent comprehensible sentence.

Parking-wise, you're looking at mix-bag. There are lots across the venue, but don't be surprised to be paying $20 to park. Parking lots further down are available, but be prepared to walk, and honestly, you don't want to get too close into the heart of Camden at midnight when the performance is over. The easiest bet it to park at the RT. 73 station and take the train in. No hassle and you pay $1 for the train.

Concessions-wise, you're looking at the standard Aramark-fare, while paying an arm and a leg. It's expensive, no lie, but water fountains are available. As well, typically Susq. allows you to bring in your own drinks (non-alcoholic) pending that they are sealed. They also do allow medically-necessary food items (say you're diabetic).

Audio-wise, I don't know what others are talking about, because this venue has been well acclaimed for the indoor acoustics. Typically, yes the volume is loud, but I have never heard it to the point of clipping.

Yes, lawn seats are pretty much dirt. That's why you pay dirt for the tickets. They're not growing fresh grass each concert. It's a hill, and likewise, people dance, surf, and get really trashed up in this section. And how do you complain about too many noisy children in the family section? Do they need a section dedicated to whinny grumpy patrons?

Other-wise, there really isn't a bad seat in the house. Possibly being to the extremes on either side, but really, the venue itself is fairly small. The pit is very tiny, so expect to be cramped.

Festivals are immense, with adjacent lots dedicated to expanses of booths and stages.

Entrance-wise, expect lines when first starting. Arrive late and you'll get in quickly. I have never had a problem with finding my seats WITH assistance of the security and staff there. Never been frisked. I even had an opened water bottle, and he opened the bottle, asked me if anything has been done to it, and then let me go through. No problems with medicine, despite my friend having Oxycodine in her purse for medical use (pulled teeth) and them being aware.

First aid is TOP NOTCH. During Warped Tour back in 2002, my friend actually passed out in the crowd. They were prompt in finding him a bed, gave all of us liquids, and requested that we bring him back in an hour just to check up that he's okay.

What others are talking about I have no clue. I've been to NUMEROUS venues across the country, and while this is not my favorite (Electric Factory wins that), the Susq. or Tweeter, or E-Center, still wins my heart as a quality venue to see all genres of music and performances.

Time to clear some fear of this venue. I went here 8/7/09 for the Mayhem festival and found this place not to be what the others are saying. Firstly, the neighborhood is not that of the bronx in the early 80's. The venue is in an "amusement district" which is kind of a built up section of Camden, making it a little more appealing then most of the town. Police were pretty abundant, but not overwhelming. We parked at the first lot we saw (and probably the furthest), about 8-10min walk (cake). We did see the prison, which was NOT directly across the street from the venue, and could easily be avoided. There was one dude outside the prison (at 11pm) who could care less about us and was more interested in making arm signals to a fellow in the pen window. We got to the gate 1.5hrs after the doors were open and pretty much walked right up to the frisking section which was a pleasure. A quick pat for the guys, and a peek in the purse for the ladies. My wife was not interrogated about her prescription in her purse either. We then were greeted at the ticket turnstiles with HUGE smiles from the staff. Once inside the staff/security were unnoticeable and non-intrusive. The food was your typical raceway/carnival food as expected. Chicken tenders/w fries $9.50. A pretty nice cheesesteak with chips, cole slaw and pickle was $12.00 and could be shared by a couple. The only price that really stood out was water for $4.00, although there were plenty of fountains by the bathroom buildings to quench your thirst. Everything else seemed feasible. 26oz domestic beer's for $8.50. Now about the sound quality. Outside at the parking lot stages (for the smaller/opening bands), the sound was actually better then inside the arena. Once inside the arena it was easy to determine these amps were on 11. We had good seats about 15-20 rows behind the pit area in the center. Music was sometimes hard to make out cause every band was cranked so damn loud. Of course Slayer and Manson should be cranked, but it's good to also know what song is playing. On a 1-10(highest) for sound, I give this place a 6.5. This rating may not be relevant with different types of music of course. I would probably go back to Mayhem next year at this venue if there are at least 3 bands I really want to see. This time it was only 2 (Behemoth/Slayer) and I still feel satisfied with the outcome. On an ending note, Bring your GPS when going to this place. We got lost for 30mins due to Detours and a mess of spaghetti route signs. This place can hold 1000's...don't let 5 negative reviews by a bunch of babies steer you away from your favorite band!

Time to clear some fear of this venue. I went here 8/7/09 for the Mayhem festival and found this place not to be what the others are saying. Firstly, the neighborhood is not that of the bronx in the early 80's. The venue is in an "amusement district" which is kind of a built up section of Camden, making it a little more appealing then most of the town. Police were pretty abundant, but not overwhelming. We parked at the first lot we saw (and probably the furthest), about 8-10min walk (cake). We did see the prison, which was NOT directly across the street from the venue, and could easily be avoided. There was one dude outside the prison (at 11pm) who could care less about us and was more interested in making arm signals to a fellow in the pen window. We got to the gate 1.5hrs after the doors were open and pretty much walked right up to the frisking section which was a pleasure. A quick pat for the guys, and a peek in the purse for the ladies. My wife was not interrogated about her prescription in her purse either. We then were greeted at the ticket turnstiles with HUGE smiles from the staff. Once inside the staff/security were unnoticeable and non-intrusive. The food was your typical raceway/carnival food as expected. Chicken tenders/w fries $9.50. A pretty nice cheesesteak with chips, cole slaw and pickle was $12.00 and could be shared by a couple. The only price that really stood out was water for $4.00, although there were plenty of fountains by the bathroom buildings to quench your thirst. Everything else seemed feasible. 26oz domestic beer's for $8.50. Now about the sound quality. Outside at the parking lot stages (for the smaller/opening bands), the sound was actually better then inside the arena. Once inside the arena it was easy to determine these amps were on 11. We had good seats about 15-20 rows behind the pit area in the center. Music was sometimes hard to make out cause every band was cranked so damn loud. Of course Slayer and Manson should be cranked, but it's good to also know what song is playing. On a 1-10(highest) for sound, I give this place a 6.5. This rating may not be relevant with different types of music of course. I would probably go back to Mayhem next year at this venue if there are at least 3 bands I really want to see. This time it was only 2 (Behemoth/Slayer) and I still feel satisfied with the outcome. On an ending note, Bring your GPS when going to this place. We got lost for 30mins due to Detours and a mess of spaghetti route signs. This place can hold 1000's...don't let 5 negative reviews by a bunch of babies steer you away from your favorite band!

Let me begin this review by prefacing that I am not your average reviewer. I am a devoted fan of music and I have spent the past two months of my life seeing various shows in the Philadelphia and New York area. I am not some 45 year old man out of touch with modern day music - I am an 18 year old professional. Which is why I am the most qualified to review this venue.
Now that that is out of the way, I can begin. First off, Camden sucks balls. I was anticipating miles and miles of urban decay, chock -full o' murder, but instead discovered the the location of the venue is in probably the most boring and surreal area of New Jersey/Philadelphia. Don't expect to find any food, unless you have a craving for soft pretzles. If you are looking for miles and miles of parking lots, porta-potties, office buildings, an aquarium, and a Campbell's soup factory however, then you are in luck my friend!
After a fruitless search for food, you may find yourself wandering to the Bank Center to wait in line. Perhaps you??ve convinced yourself there will be delicious food in the venue. After sitting for an extended period of time in an unorganized jimble-jamble of all-aged-hipsters, the DOUCHES in yellow may or may not open the crusty gates on time. Upon entrance, be prepared to succumb to a body-cavity search as a means to check for water bottles. DOUCHES. Once they??ve ripped appendages and searched your soul, you may pass to the next set of DOUCHES who scan your ticket. They work slowly and suck at life. After that hassle, you must then cross paths with the guard who will ask you a riddle. You have three attempts to answer correctly. The answer is 42, by the way. Pass quickly and dodge the DOUCHES trying to slam advertisements for other GOD AWFUL shows into your face.

Let me begin this review by prefacing that I am not your average reviewer. I am a devoted fan of music and I have spent the past two months of my life seeing various shows in the Philadelphia and New York area. I am not some 45 year old man out of touch with modern day music - I am an 18 year old professional. Which is why I am the most qualified to review this venue.
Now that that is out of the way, I can begin. First off, Camden sucks balls. I was anticipating miles and miles of urban decay, chock -full o' murder, but instead discovered the the location of the venue is in probably the most boring and surreal area of New Jersey/Philadelphia. Don't expect to find any food, unless you have a craving for soft pretzles. If you are looking for miles and miles of parking lots, porta-potties, office buildings, an aquarium, and a Campbell's soup factory however, then you are in luck my friend!
After a fruitless search for food, you may find yourself wandering to the Bank Center to wait in line. Perhaps you??ve convinced yourself there will be delicious food in the venue. After sitting for an extended period of time in an unorganized jimble-jamble of all-aged-hipsters, the DOUCHES in yellow may or may not open the crusty gates on time. Upon entrance, be prepared to succumb to a body-cavity search as a means to check for water bottles. DOUCHES. Once they??ve ripped appendages and searched your soul, you may pass to the next set of DOUCHES who scan your ticket. They work slowly and suck at life. After that hassle, you must then cross paths with the guard who will ask you a riddle. You have three attempts to answer correctly. The answer is 42, by the way. Pass quickly and dodge the DOUCHES trying to slam advertisements for other GOD AWFUL shows into your face.

I am an avid fan of live music and I do spend a lot of time and money travelling to various shows. I'm not some dumb pubescent; I'm a 45 year old professional. The Camden Tweeter Center is one of the worst I have ever encountered. I will only consider going there if one of my favorite bands are there. Maybe. First of all the parking situation... the Camden Police Dept. block off access to the adjacent multilevel parking garage and many of the nearby lots and make you park a mile or more away. Every time, I'm doing that loooong walk I see the closest lots are only 50-70% filled at showtime. They will not even allow you to drop off handicapped people at the entrance "due to terrorism." At the gate you have to submit to a search and "pat down" for weapons, although they also are VERY interested in any medications you may have (sometimes they take them; make you take them back to your car (another 2 mile round trip) ; or send you to the first-aid booth for additional interrogation --I've given up more than a couple vials of nitro.) If you take a sip of your water during the mile long walk in, you have to dump the whole bottle because the seal is broken. Why is parking $25 (i.e. Ozzfest '07) >1 mile away??? The sound system is very poor (inside as well as on the lawn) stereo separation is non-existent. If you have "lawn" tickets....sometimes they will allow you to bring a blanket to sit on and other times they make you sit in the mud. Dispite the legions of staff dweebs walking around and stationed at their posts...they do nothing when they see people pissing between the seats or on the lawn; or doing other nasty stuff. There is a small safe area called "family section" that is patrolled a bit better on the lawn, way back -- but then you have the howling children to contend with. The staff dweebs do seem to enjoy snatching smoking items (pipes, lighters, baggies of smoking material, etc.) from people on the lawn (these can often be re-purchased after the show along the rear exit.) The restrooms are always a mess. Waterfountains are very rare and never chilled. They want to charge you $4 for a small bottle of water. Even the VIP section is disappointing --food only till 7:45pm and then its just popcorn and overpriced drinks. If you have good inside tickets, be prepared to show them to no less than 3 ticket checkers (they don't point you to your seats, they just let you pass.) If you ask where your seats are, you often are directed to any nearby open seats (not a problem until the real seat holders arrive.) Recently I was issued tickets for row V and no row V was to be found. The "helpful" ticket checker suggested my party "just find empty seats elsewhere in the section." Since we wanted to stay together --we retreated to the "lawn" --a mix of piss, mud, and geese feces. Chair rentals are sometimes available on the lawn --highly recommended if you get there early enough. After the show, the dweebs will quickly force everyone out immediately so the traffic is gridlocked in the parking lots. This means you probably have to depart early to get out. The lots will be filled with broken beer bottles and the typical nitrous oxide balloon sellers also clog up the lots with their clusters of customers. For all the cops, security, and staff --nothing productive seems to get accomplished there.

I am an avid fan of live music and I do spend a lot of time and money travelling to various shows. I'm not some dumb pubescent; I'm a 45 year old professional. The Camden Tweeter Center is one of the worst I have ever encountered. I will only consider going there if one of my favorite bands are there. Maybe. First of all the parking situation... the Camden Police Dept. block off access to the adjacent multilevel parking garage and many of the nearby lots and make you park a mile or more away. Every time, I'm doing that loooong walk I see the closest lots are only 50-70% filled at showtime. They will not even allow you to drop off handicapped people at the entrance "due to terrorism." At the gate you have to submit to a search and "pat down" for weapons, although they also are VERY interested in any medications you may have (sometimes they take them; make you take them back to your car (another 2 mile round trip) ; or send you to the first-aid booth for additional interrogation --I've given up more than a couple vials of nitro.) If you take a sip of your water during the mile long walk in, you have to dump the whole bottle because the seal is broken. Why is parking $25 (i.e. Ozzfest '07) >1 mile away??? The sound system is very poor (inside as well as on the lawn) stereo separation is non-existent. If you have "lawn" tickets....sometimes they will allow you to bring a blanket to sit on and other times they make you sit in the mud. Dispite the legions of staff dweebs walking around and stationed at their posts...they do nothing when they see people pissing between the seats or on the lawn; or doing other nasty stuff. There is a small safe area called "family section" that is patrolled a bit better on the lawn, way back -- but then you have the howling children to contend with. The staff dweebs do seem to enjoy snatching smoking items (pipes, lighters, baggies of smoking material, etc.) from people on the lawn (these can often be re-purchased after the show along the rear exit.) The restrooms are always a mess. Waterfountains are very rare and never chilled. They want to charge you $4 for a small bottle of water. Even the VIP section is disappointing --food only till 7:45pm and then its just popcorn and overpriced drinks. If you have good inside tickets, be prepared to show them to no less than 3 ticket checkers (they don't point you to your seats, they just let you pass.) If you ask where your seats are, you often are directed to any nearby open seats (not a problem until the real seat holders arrive.) Recently I was issued tickets for row V and no row V was to be found. The "helpful" ticket checker suggested my party "just find empty seats elsewhere in the section." Since we wanted to stay together --we retreated to the "lawn" --a mix of piss, mud, and geese feces. Chair rentals are sometimes available on the lawn --highly recommended if you get there early enough. After the show, the dweebs will quickly force everyone out immediately so the traffic is gridlocked in the parking lots. This means you probably have to depart early to get out. The lots will be filled with broken beer bottles and the typical nitrous oxide balloon sellers also clog up the lots with their clusters of customers. For all the cops, security, and staff --nothing productive seems to get accomplished there.

I got lawn tickets for a concert last year, and it was a horrible experience. There were drunk people all around me making out, and I saw more of that than the actual concert. The lawn was actually dirt instead of grass, so bring a blanket. If I ever went back there, I'd sit in the reserved seats. Even though I couldn't see much from the lawn, at least they had a large video screen so I could watch the concert on TV.

I got lawn tickets for a concert last year, and it was a horrible experience. There were drunk people all around me making out, and I saw more of that than the actual concert. The lawn was actually dirt instead of grass, so bring a blanket. If I ever went back there, I'd sit in the reserved seats. Even though I couldn't see much from the lawn, at least they had a large video screen so I could watch the concert on TV.

I know a lot of really great bands play here, but I hate it with a passion. The sound system sucks, it's a stadium so don't expect the atmosphere to be anything other than corporate & sterile. The ticket prices are exorbitant, & you don't feel like they give a damn about the fans who keep them in business. But I'm prejudiced, I admit it. I love concert venues like Tower Theater, old, gothic, moody, intimate even when the space is large, & totally committed to the music & the fans. You'll never find that here. I wish they would bomb it.

I know a lot of really great bands play here, but I hate it with a passion. The sound system sucks, it's a stadium so don't expect the atmosphere to be anything other than corporate & sterile. The ticket prices are exorbitant, & you don't feel like they give a damn about the fans who keep them in business. But I'm prejudiced, I admit it. I love concert venues like Tower Theater, old, gothic, moody, intimate even when the space is large, & totally committed to the music & the fans. You'll never find that here. I wish they would bomb it.

PROS: not one thing
CONS: sterile, corporate, soulless

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